Toy trackage



April 1, 1930.

L. G. HANDY TOY TRACKAGE Filed Sept. 18

i: L. Qals s z qndy I Patented Apr. 1, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TOY TRACKAGE Application filed September 18, 1926. Serial No. 136,359.

This invention relates to trackage for toy electric trains, such for instance as is containzed in my Patent No. 1,636,416, July 19th, 192

An object of the present invention is to provide improved means whereby the passage of a train over a given section orsections of the track may be made to control the operation of auxiliary devices such as signals and the like.

A further object is to provide an electric toy track section intended to be attached to or removed from track forming relation with other electric toy track sections in the usual manner, said section being constructed to include improved means whereby the passage of a train over said section will complete a shunt circuit, in parallel with the train circuit, for controlling one or more auxiliary devices.

A further object is to provide an electric toy track section in which one of the wheel bearing rails is made to provide a contact to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for controlling a shunt circuit in parallel with the train circuit but in which necessity for the use of insulating connecting means between said track rail and aligned rails of adjacent other toy track sections is dispensed with.

A further object is to provide an electric toy track section in which one of the wheel bearing rails is made to provide a contact to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train. for controlling a shunt circuit in parallel withthe train circuit but in which a conductive path is provided through said track section between the opposite ends of the mentioned track rail so that said path may carry the train'circuit as for instance if for any reason the opposite wheel bearing rail does not provide a conductive path through the section for that purpose.

Other objects and aims of the invention, more or less specific than those referred to above, will be in part obvious and in part pointed out in the course of the following description of the elements, combinations, arrangements of parts and applications of principles constituting the invention; and the scope of protection contemplated will be indicated in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings which are to be taken as a part of this specification, and in which I have shown merely a preferred form of embodiment of the invention Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic plan view of an electric toy track system employing sections ofthe type with which this invention is concerned;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of an improved toy track section constructed in accordance with this invention and showing the same in operative association with aligned rails of adjacent other toy track sections Fig. 3 is an enlarged-side elevationalview of the improved toy track section appearing in Fig. 2, a portion of said figure being shown in vertical section approximately upon the plane of line III-III of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional View taken upgn the plane of line IVIV of Fig. 2, an

Fig. 5 is a similar transverse sectional view taken upon the plane of line VV of Fig. 2. a

Fig. 6 is a side elevational view illustrating a modified form of'rail, and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the rail structure shown in Fig. 6. 0

Referring to the drawings for describing in detail the structure illustrated therein, the reference characters L and G indicate the two metallic wheel bearing rails of an electric toy track section, and the reference character H indicates the intermediate or third metallic constant electrical connection with said cross ties.

The wheel bearing rail G is formed so that it provides an insulated wheel engaging portion 11 arranged to serve as a contact which is adapted to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for controlling a shunt circuit, in parallel with the train circuit, for operating one or more auxiliary devices, and to this end it is herein shown to be severed at two points as at 6 and 7 one adjacent each end of said rail. The opposite end portions as 8 and 9 are held in metallic contact with the cross ties 1-3 respectively as by, means of tangs 10--1O provided upon said cross ties for this purpose, and are hence in constant electrical connection with said cross ties.

At the points 6 and 7 where the rail is severed the opposite end portions are spaced away from the intermediate portion 11, and insulating members as 12-12 are provided for holding the intermediate portion and the opposite end portions connected together in proper wheel-bearing alignment and for holding the intermediate portion insulated from the opposite end portions and from the cross ties 1 and 3, said insulating members 12-12 being held by tangs 13-13 provided upon the cross ties for the purpose, said insulating members and said tangs being similar in construction to the insulating members 4 and the tangs 14--14 provided for holding the third rail in insulated connection with the cross ties.

The cross tie 2 is connected with the intermediate portion 11 of rail G b an insulatin joint similar to the insulating oints by whic the third rail is connected with the cross ties.

The cross ties 1 and 2 are sufliciently broad so that the tangs 1010 thereof are appreciably spaced from the tangs 13-13. Since these two sets of tangs provide bonds which are appreciably spaced'apart in the length of the wheel bearing rail portions 8 and 9 they thus cooperate to provide efficient means for holding said portions 8 and 9 in proper aligned relation with the intermediate portion 11 of the rail.

Each of the rails L, G and H is provided with connecting means at its opposite ends by which it may be readily mechanically conneeted in track forming relation with aligned rails of adjacent other toy track sections. As an illustration of means for this purpose the drawing herewith suggests all of said rails to be formed with sockets as 15 at their opposite ends, and metallic pins 16 for engaging in said sockets, said pins being adapted to extend into similar sockets provided in the aligned rails of adjacent other toy track sections for thereby completing a mechanical and electrical connection between said adjacent rails and the respective aligned ends of the rails of the present improved section.

Any suitable means may be provided by which to connect a signal or like device in circuit with the third rail H and the insulated portion 11 of track rail G, and for this purpose the drawing illustrates a device consisting of a rectangular piece of insulating material as at 17 extending beneath the mentioned rails. A contact element 18 carried by this insulating piece engages with the rail H and a similar contact element 19 engages with the rail portion 11. Two binding posts as 20 and 21 are carried by the insulating piece and these are connected as by conductors 22 and 23 respectively with the contact elements 18 and 19. Conductors as 24 and 25, leading from opposite sides of the signal device 26, may be connected with the binding posts 20 and 21 as will be readily understood.

In Fig. 1 a plurality of electric toy track sections. are diagrammatically illustrated as they appear when connected together for use. A source of electrical energy is indicated at 27 with a conductor as 28 leading from one side thereof to the third rail of the system, and with a conductor as 29 from its opposite side connected with the two wheel bearing rails of the system, it being noted that although the conductor 29 is here shown as having direct connection with both of said wheel bearing rails it is usually suflicient to connect said conductor directly with only one of said rails, the current being fed to the other wheel bearing rail through the several metallic cross ties of the ordinar toy track section as heretofore manufacture (see cross ties 42 in Fig. 2).

In this system the several sections of track as illustrated are indicated by reference characters from 30 to 36, inclusive, the jointsbetween said sections being indicated at 37 37. All of the sections illustrated, excepting the section indicated 31 are of ordinary construction, the section 31, however, being one of the present improved sections in which the wheel bearing rail G is provided with the insulated wheel engaging portion 11 as above described.

The signal device 26 is shown with its conductors 24 and 25 connected with the third rail H and with the insulated portion of the wheel bearing rail G.

A train is indicated as travelling along the system said train having wheels 3838 riding upon the wheel bearing rails and having a shoe 39 riding upon the third rail, the shoe being connected to one side of a train propelling motor 40, the opposite side of the motor being grounded upon the frame as 41 of the train and hence upon all of the wheels of the train.

The propelling circuit for the train is of the usual type well known in this art, namely from source 27 through conductor 28 to the third, or power, rail of the system, through the shoe 39 and motor 40 to ground upon the frame of the train and back to-the opposite side of the source through the train wheels and the wheel bearing rails. I

The shunt circuit through thesignal device 26 is closed as soon as one of the wheels of the train rideinto engagement with the insulated portion 11 of the wheel bearing rail G of the improved section,said shunt circuit being traced as follows: from source 27 along the third, or power,rail, to conductor24, through the signal device 26 and back by way of conductor 25 to the insulated portion 11, and thence, by way of the wheel which is in engagement with said portion 11, to ground upon the frame of the of this circuit including the wheels of the train which bear upon portions of the two wheel-bearing rails outside of the insulated portion 11, and thence back along said wheel bearing rails to the opposite side of the source.

The rail L of the present. improved section constitutes the ground rail of said section since in use it is in metallic contact with the wheel bearing rails of other sections to which it is operatively connected.

Concerning the-improved electric toy track section disclosed, it is noteworthy that it provides for conductive paths through itself from both of'the wheel bearing rails of other toy sections to which it may be connected as well as the usual separate path through the thlrd or power rail. This result is accomplished by providing aconductive path through the section'between the portions 8 and 9- of the wheel bearing rail G and hence between the two metallic connectingmembers 16 at opposite ends of said rail G. This path includes the cross ties 1 and 3 and an intermediate portion of the wheel bearing rail L, all of said parts being in firm and substantial electrical contact at all times. By this arrangement all four of the joints for connecting the two wheel bearin rails of the improved section with the wheel earing rails of adjacent other sections are made available for carrying the ground current through the improved section. If for any reason'the wheel bearing rail L should not be in good conductive connection at one or both of its ends with aligned wheel bearing rails of other sections the conductive connection between the wheel bearing rail G and aligned wheel bearing rails of the other sec-' tion at the ends of said rail G will continue to carry the current through the improved section.

It will be understood that the present improved track section is intended to be inserted between other sections in the same eneral manner and for the same purpose as 1s now well known in this art and fully set forth in my pate: t above referred to, and that when thus' n's'erted it will, by the simple act of its insertion, provide a shunt circuit from the main car propelling circuit of the track system adapted to operate the auxiliary device 26 train, the remainder mediate insulated thir its length insulated in parallel with the propelling motor of the car, that is, with the train circuit.

In the modification illustrated in Figures 6 and 7, a track rail is shown which is of special constructionincluding an intermediate insulated section as 43 with opposite end sections 44 and 45 by which'the rail maybe connected with the corresponding rails of adjacent sections, after the manner heretofore referred to. In this case the rail is of inverted U-shape throughout its length as illustrated, and a strip of insulating material as46 extends longitudinally thereof, being firmly connected thereto by suitable fastening de vices as 47 and bridging small air gaps as 48-48 provided between the central and end sections of the rail.

The insulating-strip 46, serves to reinforce the metallic members 43, 44 and 45 and to hold said members in'good trackingalignment with each other.

This track rail may be substituted for the rail G above described and could be connected in position upon the toy track section either by the single-tang cross ties shown in Fig. 6 or by the double-tang cross'ties illustrated in-Fig. 2'as may be found desirable. Where the double-tangcross ties areemployed they will engage the metallic rail members in the same manneras in Fig.2 and the-insulating members 30 will serve to further reinforce the joint between the metallic rail members being inthat respect auxiliary to the reinforcmg'strip 46.

As many changes could be made in this construction without departing from' the scope of the invention as defined in the following claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description, or'shown in the accompanying drawings, shall be interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. l

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters' Patent is I I 1. As an article of manufacture, an electric toy track section intended to .be attached to or removed from track forming relation with the other electric toy track sectionsin the usual manher, said section bein made-up of spaced wheel bearin rails an an interrailwith cross ties by which all of the rails are mechanicall connected together for unitary handling, a l of the rails having means at their ends by which they may be readily mechanically connected in track forming relation with adjacent ends of other to'y'g-track sections, and one of the wheel bearingirails having a por tion of its length electrically connected bv means of said cross ties with the other wheel bearing rail but having another portion of from the first ortion and from said other wheel bearing rai adapted thereby to serve as a contactto be engaged 1 ling a shunt circuit in parallel with the train 'mediate portion being by the wheels of a passing train for controlling a shunt circuit in parallel with the train circuit.

2. As an article of manufacture, an electric toy track section intended to be attached to or removed from track forming relation with other electric toy track sections in the usual manner, said section being made up of spaced wheel bearing rails and an intermediate insulated third rail with cross ties by which all of the rails are mechanically connected together for unitary handling, all of the rails havin means at their ends by which they may e readily mechanically connected in track forming relation with adjacent ends of other toy track sections, and one of the wheel bearing rails having a portion of its length insulated from the remainder of its length and being dead and adapted thereby to serve as a contact to be engaged by the wheels of apassing train for controlling a shunt circuit 'in parallel with the train circuit.

3. As an article of manufacture, an electric toy track section intended to be attached to or removed from track forming relation with other electric toy track sections in the usual manner, said section being made up of spaced wheel bearing rails and an intermediate 1nsulated third rail with cross ties by which all of the rails are mechanically connected together for unitary handling, all of the rails having means at their ends by which they may be readily mechanically connected in track forming relation with adjacent ends of other toy track sections, one of the wheel bearing rails bein made up of three aligned portions insulate from each other, the intermediate portion being dead and adapted thereby to serve as a contact to be engaged by the wheels of a passing-train for controlcircuit, and the means by which to connect said mentioned wheel bearing rail with adj acent ends of the rails of other sections being provided upon the two end portions of said mentioned wheel bearing rail.

4. As an article of manufacture, an electric toy track section intended to be attached to or removed from track forming relation with other electric toy track sections in the usual manner, said section being made up of spaced wheel bearing rails and an intermediate insulated third mil with cross ties by which all of the rails are mechanically connected together for unitary handling, all of the rails having means at their ends by which they may be readily mechanically connected in track forming relation with adjacent ends of other toy track sections, one of the wheel bearing rails being made up of three aligned portions insulated from each other, the interdead and adapted thereby to serve as a contact to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for controlling a shunt circuit in parallel with the train circuit, and the means by which to mechanically connect the mentioned wheel bearing rail in aligned relation with the corresponding rail of an ad'acent toy section comprising in part a metallic pin projecting from one of the end portions of the mentioned wheel bearing rail adapted to engage within a seat of said members being of inverted U-shape having flanges at its bottom end, and a strip of insulating material extending lengthwise of said rail in position between the legs of the U, bridging the joints between the several members and being firmly connected to all of said members to thereby hold said members in track forming relatlon and insulated at least one from the others.

6. As an article of manufacture, an elec tric toy track section intended to be attached to or removed from track forming relation with other electric toy track sections in the usual manner, said section being made up of spaced wheel bearing rails and an intermediate insulated third rail with cross tie'means by which all of the rails are mechanically connected together for unitary handling, each of said rails having connecting means at its opposite ends by which it may be readily mechanically connected in track forming relation with aligned rails of adjacent other toy track sections, the connecting means of said insulated third rail and of at least one of the wheel bearing rails being of a c0nductive character adapted thereby to make electrical contact with the respective aligned rails of the other sections, the present section being constructed to provide a conductive path through itself between the conductive connecting members at the ends of the third rail and a second conductive path through itself between the conductive connectin members at the ends of the mentioned whee trio toy track section intended to be attached to or removed from track forming relation with other electric toy track sections in the usual manner, said section being made up of spaced wheel bearing rails and an intermediate insulated third rail with cross tie means by which all of the rails are mechanically connected together for unitary handling, at least one of the wheel bearing rails having opposite end wheel engaging portions of its length constructed and arranged for connection in track forming relation with aligned rails of adjacent other toy track sections, and means whereby the wheel engaging portion of said mentioned wheel bearing rail intermediate said. opposite end portions is insulated from said opposite end ortions and is made dead and adapted there y to serve as a contact to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for controlling a shunt circuit in parallel with the train circuit.

8. As an article of manufacture, an electrio toy track section intended tobe attached to or removed from track forming relation with other electric toy track sections in the usual manner, said section being made up of spaced wheel bearing rails and an intermediate insulated third rail with cross tie means by which all of the rails aremechanically connected together for unitary handling, at least one of the wheel bearing rails having opposite end wheel engaging portions of its length constructed and arranged for connection in track forming relation with aligned rails of adjacent other toy track sections, and means whereby thewheel engaging'portion of said mentioned wheel bearing r'ail intermediate said opposite end positions is insulated from said opposite end portions and is made dead and adapted thereby to serve as a contact to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for controlling a shunt circuit in parallel with the train circuit, an'dthe means by which said mentioned intermediate wheel engaging portion is insulated from said opposite end portions comprising parts serving also in holding said intermediate portion mechanically connected in track forming alignment with the opposite endportions.

9. As an article of manufacture, an elec tric toy track section intended to be attached to or removed from track forming relation with other electric toy track sections in the usual manner, said section being made up of spaced wheel bearing rails and an intermedlate insulated third rail with cross ties by which all of the rails are mechanically connected together'for unitary handling, all of the rails having means at their ends by which they may be readily mechanically connected in track forming relation with adjacent. ends of other toy track sections, and one of the wheel bearing rails having a portion of its length insulated from the remainder of its length and being dead and adapted therehv to serve as a contact to be engaged by the wheels of a passing train for controlhng a shunt circuit in parallel with the train circuit, and at least one of the mentioned cross ties having two separate sets of rail fastening tangs at one end thereof one of said sets serving in holding the insulated ortion of 

